A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S will suspend two of its container services due to security risks in the Middle East and the Gulf region, the latest sign of how the conflict is upending global supply lines.
Maersk will temporarily halt its FM1 Service, which connects the Far East to the Middle East, and its ME11 Service, which links the Middle East to Europe, according to a notice to customers on March 6.
Maersk had already interrupted bookings from a number of Gulf and Middle East states as attacks on Iran and its counterattacks on U.S. and allied assets disrupt commerce in one of the world’s key transport hubs. Maersk, which controls about one-sixth of the global container fleet, said in the March 6 notice that the suspensions were a “precautionary measure” to protect its staff amid an “escalating conflict” and followed a risk assessment.
Copenhagen-based Maersk also said its local shuttle services in the Gulf region are halted until further notice. Furthermore, its ME1 service, covering the Middle East to Northern Europe, will drop its stop in Dubai’s Jebel Ali, which normally is the world’s busiest container port outside of Asia.
